For Los Altos resident Ethan Bauman, riding his bicycle across the country for the American Lung Association was end result of a longtime goal.
Bauman’s grandmother had died of coronary obstructive pulmonary disease and emphysema. And Bauman, now 26, suffered from asthma as a child. In fact, he carried an inhaler along with him on this summer’s ride.
So raising money for the American Lung Association was a natural choice for him.
He joined 729 other riders who left from Seattle on June 15 and arrived in Washington, D.C., Aug. 1. The event was the largest cross-country bicycle journey in U.S. history, organizers said, and the ride raised more than $6.3 million for the American Lung Association.
“Ethan was tired but euphoric,” at the end of the ride, said his mother, Los Altos resident Ina Bauman. He had 16 members of his family who flew to Washington, D.C., to cheer as he crossed the finish line.
“It was an experience of a lifetime, which I’ll never forget,” he told family members.
Riders had to raise $6,000 to qualify for the ride, Ina Bauman said. Ethan raised almost $7,000 from families, friends and co-workers.
Ethan graduated from Menlo School in 1990, from Johns Hopkins University in 1994. This month he begins an MBA program at the Haas Business School at the University of California at Berkeley.
“A lot of Americans will be breathing easier because of what (these riders) have done,” said Linda Ford, president of the American Lung Association.
